THEN AND NOW: At left, Scott Read (right) shows off a check donated by an anonymous “good fairy” to replace bikes that were stolen from him and his friend, Bobby Sousa (left). At the time, Read and Sousa were 12; today they are 39. At right, Charlie Kebarian, 9, holds a check donation from Scott Read, who paid forward the good deed from nearly 30 years ago. Kebarian's go kart was stolen from his backyard last month.

It was roughly 27 years ago when Scott Read and his friend Robert Sousa spotted a brush fire in the woods while riding their bikes. Hearts pounding, the 12-year-olds hopped off their bicycles and ran to get water to put the fire out. But when they returned to get their bikes just a little while later, they were gone.

“It was a terrible feeling,” said Read. “A feeling of loss.”

But a short time later, Read and Sousa were told that an anonymous member of the community had stepped forward to make a donation toward new bikes for the boys. They each got $25 checks and were invited to dinner by John Howell, editor of the Beacon. Read remembers sitting at Howell’s table, feeling special and like his effort to stop the fire and his good deed hadn’t gone unnoticed. Howell shared the boys’ story in the paper and how their good deed got the attention of “a good fairy.”

So when Read heard the story of Charlie Kebarian, a 9-year-old boy whose go-kart was stolen last month, he thought of how he might turn Charlie’s negative situation into a positive one.

Charlie and his family live on Melbourn Road in Warwick, and thought nothing of leaving Charlie’s go-kart unchained in the back yard, especially since it needed repairs and had a flat tire. But on Monday, Aug. 13, the Kebarians awoke to find the go-kart missing.

“I didn’t feel good,” said Charlie.

After asking neighbors for any information or tips they had, Charlie’s mother, Caryn, called Channel 10 to see if they could help. They shared Charlie’s story, and soon Caryn received a phone call from a man named Tim Bedard. Bedard had an old go-kart and wanted to donate it to Charlie.

“It was pretty nice,” said Charlie of Bedard’s donation.

Though the go-kart is slightly larger than Charlie’s old one, which was handed down to him by his cousin roughly a year ago, it was still in need of repairs. The Kebarians replaced the breaks, but Caryn said it could use new tires and the steering could be fixed. Caryn explained that both she and her husband have been out of work for quite some time, so spending extra money on a go-kart would have been out of the question, that is, until Read’s donation.

Along with a letter, Read sent a $100 check to the Beacon asking that it be sent to Kebarian. Read hopes that others will pitch in for Charlie’s go-kart repairs.

Charlie, who just celebrated his birthday on Sept. 11, beamed when presented with the check last week.

“I think this is very nice,” he said of Read’s actions. Caryn agreed.

“It makes you feel so nice that people really care,” she said. “I’m so grateful. What a nice, good person.”

“You’ve got to keep a positive outlook,” said Read. “Certain things are going to happen to you, you have to look for the good in people.”

Read hopes that the donation will make Charlie feel just as special and important as he did all those years ago.

“It might make him feel a little better,” said Read. “You’ve got to keep hope.”

Who knows, perhaps in another 27 years, Charlie will make a donation to another young boy and keep the tradition of doing good alive.